Pitchfork

Here it is! The iOs debut full-length, In Sunday Songs - a classic indie pop, rock album with 10 songs to cheer you up on a rainy Sunday. The iOs mix the keyboard exuberance of Mates of State with the grittier rock guitars of Weezer.? The music contains some 80s references, but the electronic edge keeps the sound relevant and fresh. With alternating vocals, Autumn and Chris playfully portray lover's quarrels. Chris claims he neverights love songs; give a listen and judge for yourself!

“Palo Santo sounds like a house with all the furniture taken out. They've taken as much time as they needed to take everything - the tables, the chairs, the curtains, - out onto the lawn. Everything out. And then Shearwater went in and looked around. They decided what they needed: an ash table. a vase with ferns. new gold doorknobs, screwed in. and white paint. Lots of white paint. It's an album full of space. Even in its fiercer moments, there's no feeling of panic. Go ahead and open the cupboards: there are no glasses to throw. There aren't even any cupboards. If you're going to rage you'll have to do it in the wide white room, till your rage drifts slow in the air like dustmotes in the sunbeam. Shearwater, today, remind me most of Mark Hollis and late Talk Talk. They're not as phantom as that: they've not receded that far. But it's still a guitar with its strings cut; a man singing into its hollow body, summoning songs like ghosts.” – Said the Gramophone"

RIYL: The Books, Brian Eno, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Erik Satie, Moondog, Bell Orchestre, Rachel's ... Featuring Bryce & Padma from THE NATIONAL ... PITCHFORK sez: "8.2 rating" ... When Clogs formed they were an oddball classical ensemble in indie rock clothing. Today, however, they're at the forefront of a scene including friends in groups The Books, Rachel's, and Bell Orchestre. Clogs' fourth album, Lantern is their finest and most varied effort to date. They augment their unique sonic palette (acoustic guitar, strings, percussion, bassoon) with melodica, piano, ukulele, and mandola. Guitarist Bryce Dessner goes electric. Per usual, Newsome adds haunting vocals to one song, the title track: "Light me a lantern/in your lighthouse, my keeper/me a lantern" Consolidating and expanding on the sounds of their first three records, it also sees Clogs writing the best melodies of their career and incorporating more dub and rock influences. (The National's Aaron Dessner contributes bass to "5/4.")"

RIYL: Serge Gainsbourg, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, New Order, David Bowie, Daft Punk, The Smiths, Stephin Merritt. ... INVISIBLE LIMB sez: "No other record this year has hit us this hard or this strong. In fact, we dig it so much we're convinced there doesn't exist a stereo, iPod, or dance club playlist that can say no to this savvy hybrid of pop, new wave, and soul." ... BABY DAYLINER plays maximum rock 'n roll hangouts in front of punk crowds, hip-hop crowds, folk crowds, hardcore crowds. He regularly follows bands with formidable wattage (Scissor Sisters, The National, Trans Am). Yet when he opens his mysterious suitcase, turns on his gear, and walks to center stage, he inevitably proceeds to move the crowd, open eyes, and blow minds. He broadcasts tropes and language from rap and disco in settings where neither rap nor disco are typically heard, but he sells it every time, without condescending to either form. He is bravely building bridges, doing profound theoretical work, all the while getting busy and never forgetting to entertain. ... INSOUND sez: "Prepare to be wowed. This is one of our very favorite records so far this year!""

"Many things are true in Spinal Tap. The more people from the music industry we meet, the more we understand where those characters come from!  I used to think that the characters were pure fiction, almost cartoons. But they do exist in real life. You just need to go to any office of any record company to see them." - Alex White, THE ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE"

The Love X Nowhere sound has drawn many comparisons to Pink Floyd, and it’s obvious why on upon hearing the first psychedelic notes of the band’s upcoming, vinyl EP, Into the Fire. Recorded at Tiny Telephone, engineer Justin Phelps captured the quintet’s headphone (the big-ones, not the iPod ones) music with a lushness last heard on albums from band’s like The Verve and Spaceman 3. As often is the case on vinyl records, the gem is found on the b-side: the sprawling, mellow and upbeat “Spill the Ink,” featuring horns and playful lyrics. Seamus Williams - Mesh Magazine"

Born and raised in Molde, Norway, Ane Brun began playing guitar and writing music when she was 21 years old. Two Norwegian Grammy awards later, Ane has released her US debut, A Temporary Dive, which features guest appearances by Ron Sexsmith, Teitur and Syd Matters. "...a minimalist beauty so perfect that it evokes awed pleasure rather than gloom." - Time Out New York.

The venerable NYC power-trio featuring Eric Richter (Christie Front Drive, Antarctica) has finished recording their second full length record titled "Numbers" for Limekiln Records. Masterfully recorded and produced by Ian Love (Rival Schools, Cardia), The 101 have created a tasty suite of anthemic pop melodies that are sure to creep right into your favorite playlists of this summer.

In the months after Boston band Push Kings crashed and burned in Los Angeles, singer/guitarist/songwriter Finian McKean had a pop music hangover. Having led the Push Kings (along with brother Carrick) in a three album sunshine assault on the dour indie rock and crappy nu metal of the late '90s, McKean was sick of sleazy managers, major label showcases, and the whole Silverlake scene; he was eager for new adventures, aching to rediscover the passion that drew him to rock n roll in the first place. He packed up, moved back east and holed up in a 1901 brick tenement in Red Hook, the bleak and beautiful Siberia of Brooklyn (no subway service!!). It's here he found his hangover cure... Cut off from the rest of the city, Finian let his hair grow, drew the curtains and recorded a new batch of songs alone in a room with tin ceilings and a green marble fireplace. He played every instrument and turned every knob himself, intent on exploring feelings so dark & private they could only be brought to life in this sensory-deprived isolation. The music that emerged is Shades Are Drawn, an audio document of depression and urban anxiety in the shattered style of legendary shut-ins like Syd Barrett and Skip Spence, with the understated intensity of Neil Young and JJ Cale.

Home Sexteen is a concept record about fucking. The band wrote nearly 50 songs on the subject, which were whittled down to 20 and recorded in a marathon 3-day weekend recording blitz. Home began when Eric Morrison (piano) and Andrew Deutsch (guitar), high school friends with a mutual love of making movies, moved to Tampa, Florida and traded their cameras for instruments. Soon they met Brad Truax (bass) and Sean Martin (drums). The foursome moved into a house up the street from Busch Gardens and began to record music at a voracious clip beneath the din of the Python. Home will be touring the Northeast and Canada in June 2006 after a substantial break from the road.